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Tag: BA&SH

  • BA&SH expects to quadruple sales in Greater China

    BA&SH expects to quadruple sales in Greater China

    Affordable luxury brand BA&SH has marked the second anniversary of its launch in Asia by revealing plans to quadruple its sales in the region within two years and introduce a new store concept. Last year the company opened seven stores in Mainland China, three in Hong Kong and two in Macau, taking its Greater China footprint to 20 points of sale.

    “We are thrilled about Hong Kong hitting the podium already and convinced China has the potential to drive the brand’s growth in a near future,” says Isolde Andouard, BA&SH’s CEO for Apac.

    “Asian market accounts for 6 per cent of our global sales as of today and we are targeting to reach 17 per cent by 2020. We forecast to multiply our turnover fourfold within the next two years,” she said.

    Stores in Hong Kong and Mainland China achieved profitability after just three months of operation, allowing the brand to build a regional store pool contributing significantly to global results.

    BA&SH unveiled a new store concept in the US last September, located in New York City’s Nolita neighbourhood, a store designed around themes of friendship and customer experience.

    “We chose New York to test the water with this new concept as this retailtainment experience must be combined with a heavy digital approach and US is clearly ahead of time on this,” says the company’s global CEO Pierre Arnaud Grenade.

    “As the US and Asia are our two strongest focuses for the time being, Hong Kong will definitely be the second city to inaugurate this model.”

    Sustained investments from LVMH-sponsored L Catterton have been supporting BA&SH’s strong growth over the past years and a strong emphasis on Greater China was seen as critical to the brand’s globalisation.

    Hong Kong stores, the first of which opened almost two years ago, now rank within BA&SH’s top five worldwide in turnover. Andouard says that proves the BA&SH concept is a great fit for Asia, with the Hong Kong stores recording average like-for-like sales growth of more than 40 per cent year on year. Some stores in Greater China doubled their sales year on year.

    BA&SH has focused on opening boutiques in premium locations and already counts most of the city’s major retail property owners among their landlords – including Swire, Sun Hung Kai, Sands, Wharf, China Resources and Value Retail.

    “We didn’t bet on such a warm welcome from the local operators, because BA&SH is quite a new concept to Asia,” says Laura Marquant, strategy & development director Apac. “Yet we see the market is becoming more mature and is looking for the freshness BA&SH is offering.”

    E-commerce focus

    Meanwhile, on the strength of the Greater China success, BA&SH has expanded its reach online through Alibaba, opening a flagship on Tmall last June, less than a year after the brand launched in Mainland China.

    “As far as digital is concerned, New Retail and omnichannel are more than ever on the table, and the redesign of the brand’s Hong Kong website with new features and tools are the next steps to come,” says Andouard.

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  • BA&SH to have more stores in Asia

    BA&SH to have more stores in Asia

    French label BA&SH is planning to open more stores in China, Hong Kong and Macau.

    Since December the label has been planning to grow is retail network by a third including its 200 monobrand stores and department-store concessions.

    L Catterton investment fund acquired a 50 per cent stake in the label in 2015, with Pierre-Arnaud Grenade being appointed GM.

    BA&SH landed in Asia and the US last year, setting up two subsidiaries. By the end of last year, the label had 130 stores in Europe, the US and Asia.

    As well as further openings in Asia (three stores in Hong Kong, seven in China and two in Macau), BA&SH is planning to open another shop in New York. BA&SH says it has outgrown its original business model, which relied on wholesale distribution, and now 80 per cent of its revenue is generated via department-store concessions and its monobrand stores.

    Meanwhile, the label has set up a direct-to-consumer team in New York working on all aspects of e-commerce. It has launched e-commerce sites in various languages and currencies (nine so far in total) and has also started working with Tmall.com in China.

    In June last year, BA&SH chose Hong Kong for its first stores in Asia, and within five months was considering ramping up its Asia presence.

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  • Ba&Sh plan for Asia expansion

    Ba&Sh plan for Asia expansion

    Parisian affordable luxury brand Ba&Sh plans to ramp up its Asian presence after early success in Hong Kong.

    The region has become a top priority for founders Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief after a cornerstone 50 per cent investment by LVMH-linked PE fund L Capital in 2015. Ba&Sh plans to open 12 more stores in China, Macau and Hong Kong next year.

    The co-founders made their first personal appearance in Asia at the recent Spring-Summer 2018 collection media preview in Beijing.

    “Ba&Sh is spreading fast in Asia and seems to match the local way of life, confirming the universal reach of its lifestyle,” said Ba&Sh CEO Asia Isolde Andouard.

    Hongkongers quickly embraced the Ba&Sh label, with growing foot traffic in the three stores which have opened since April, at Times Square, Harbour City and IFC Mall.

    “The shops are flourishing, so the brand is all the more optimistic and enthusiastic at the time of launching Ba&Sh in China,” she said.

    Five Mainland China stores have opened since September in fashionable and luxury malls in Beijing – Shin Kong Place, Galeries Lafayette and Taikoo Li – and in Shanghai – Reel and Taikoo Hui.

    The Asia roll-out is being led by Andouard, who previously headed up rival fashion operator, the Chinese-owned French company SMCP, parent of the Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot.

    “Isolde is the right person to achieve ba&sh development in Asia,” explained Ba&Sh global CEO Pierre-Arnaud Grenade. “Her versatile background and her in-depth understanding of the Asian market are strong assets to support Ba&Sh implementation there.”

    Isolde Andouard, Ba&Sh CEO Asia with Pierre-Arnaud Grenade, CEO Global.

    Authenticity wins following

    Andouard says the brand’s authenticity won over French women and believes that same authenticity appeals to Asian consumers.

    Despite its LVMH-linked ownership, Barbara and Sharon remain the faces of the brand “and, as such, they do reinforce the customers’ identification with Ba&Sh. But above all, Ba&Sh benefits from its success in France and from the LVMH network to carry out a daring expansion strategy. The launch in Asia and in the US were done simultaneously, a bold move that is starting to show tangible results,” she said.

    The co-founders, high school girlfriends, have given the first two letters of their names and more than 10 years of their lives to create the brand before attracting the attention of LVMH.

    Globally, Ba&Sh now has 500 points of sale worldwide, including 163 direct retail stores.

    ba&sh SS18 press event_10

    The brand’s two core values – freedom and friendship – are at the heart of the creative process.

    “Trend books never set foot in the Ba&Sh workshop, where only refined fabrics and craftsmanship ignite the spark of the stylists’ creativity. Barbara and Sharon dreamed of building the ideal wardrobe, and that’s why our products are so versatile, in fitting with today’s never-resting metropolitan woman who parties when she’s not working or with her family.”

    The new SS18 collection mixes Anglo-Saxon and Asian inspirations to embody “the joyful and Parisian Ba&Sh spirit”.

    Most prints draw their inspiration from the heart of Asia; Japanese and traditional Chinese patterns are reinterpreted with flair.

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  • French fashion brand ba&sh says bonjour to Asia

    French fashion brand ba&sh says bonjour to Asia

    Once the best kept secret of a generation of modern French women, ba&sh, a leading affordable luxury brand for women seeking effortless, carefree elegance, has arrived in Hong Kong, its first stop in Asia.

    Building on the brand’s strong success in Europe, the Parisian fashion house is now focused on international expansion. To capitalise on Asia’s growing appreciation for all things French, the brand’s unique take on feminine, joyful chic is now available in three boutiques of prime shopping destinations in Hong Kong, the brand’s Asia headquarters:the IFC mall in Central, Times Square in Causeway Bay and Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui. Besides, ba&sh’s famed ideal wardrobe of everyday pieces in sumptuous fabrics is also available online via a dedicated site.

    Considering the McKinsey consultancy group estimates the current size of China’s middle class at around 225 million households-compared with just 5 million in 2000-this exploding growth entails soaring demand for affordable luxury. By the end of 2017, ba&sh will have opened six stores in key strategic locations across China’s tier one cities, thus reaching a new generation of style-conscious women who want uncomplicated feminine yet urban designs for work and play. Flagship stores will open in fashionable destinations in Beijing and Shanghai.

    Barbara Boccara & Sharon Krief, two childhood friends, did create ba&sh out of a shared love for fashion, which accounts for the name of a brand that takes after the first two letters of the founders’ names. Their idea was to bring their dream wardrobe to life, so that they could share it with other women. A little more than 10 years later, their designs can be found in more than 400 point of sales worldwide, among which 90 point of sales in France and flagship stores in prestigious locations such as London, Madrid and Berlin.

    Confirming their success and the power of Barbara and Sharon’s vision, private equity fund L Catterton acquired a 50% stake in the brand in 2015, which has enabled its international growth. The fund was established with the sponsorship of LVMH and Groupe Arnault, the latter also being ba&sh shareholders. For Greater China, ba&sh has entered into a management service partnership with ImagineX Group, the brand distribution arm of The Lane Crawford Joyce Group, in order to leverage their local fashion retail, marketing expertise and operational efficiency. Besides entering Asia, the brand is also expanding towards the US and Middle East.

    To celebrate the brand’s arrival in Asia, Barbara Boccara & Sharon Krief hosted an intimate private party to introduce Hong Kong’s leading fashionistas to the world of ba&shon June 8, 2017. The informal event turned out to be a huge success, the two founders previewed their latest collection,which is distinctly Parisian, as it combines an expression of freedom with an easy, joyful elegance.

  • Paris label BA&SH eyes Asia expansion

    Paris label BA&SH eyes Asia expansion

    Parisian fashion house BA&SH has partnered with Hong Kong retail and brand management company ImagineX Group to strengthen its presence in Asia.

    BA&SH has hopes of accelerating its expansion in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan and China. The label opened its first Asian store at Hong Kong’s IFC Mall in September 2014 and with ImagineX now plans 30 more openings in the region, including a second Hong Kong outlet early next year.

    “Hong Kong customers have taken to our style and our collections,” say designers Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief. “We are very happy to share our vision of fashion and femininity.”

    Associate general directors Dan Arrouas and Pierre-Arnaud Grenade say the new partnership marks an important and supplementary stage in the company’s development strategy following its establishment in the Middle East and the US.

    They say the ImagineX Group’s expertise in fashion retail and marketing will help BA&SH expand rapidly and contribute to its globalisation.

    ImagineX Group president Alice Wong says the label’s Parisian flair, combined with its unique positioning and price point, make it appealing to Asian customers.

    Childhood friends, Boccara and Krief established BA&SH in 2003 to offer contemporary fashion in the affordable luxury sector. With 91 stores last year, the brand aims to reach 130 stores this year.

    Founded in 1992, ImagineX Group introduced luxury brands such as Cartier, Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo to China more than 20 years ago. It represents more than 18 international brands including DKNY, Marc Jacobs and Paul Smith. The portfolio also includes such lifestyle and beauty brands as Apivita, Aveda and Natura Bisse.

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